By Marlene Bauer

I have been a student of Vedic astrology and culture for many years. As part of my studies, I have made three trips to India, the most recent in January 2019.

On this three-week trip, hosted by Komilla Sutton, our international group of Vedic astrologers visited 27 ancient nakshatra star temples. We travelled hundreds of kilometers throughout the south eastern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

A nakshatra is a lunar mansion in Hindu astrology and Indian astronomy. It’s one of 27, or 28 sectors along the elliptic marked by a significant star or group of stars.

Each day the moon visits one star group repeating the cycle every 27-28 days. When the temple priests ask you, “What is your star?”, it’s the nakshatra that the moon was visiting on the day of your birth.

Most of the nakshatra star temples are many hundreds of years old, while a few are 2,000 years old or more. It’s a humbling experience to visit temples where worshippers have gathered for over two millennia.

Like the holy sites of other faiths, many of the nakshatra star temples have particular meanings attached to them. They are the sites of important marriages and legendary unions.

Some temples are known for helping worshippers release obstacles. Others are visited to receive blessings for a good marriage and family harmony.

Assuming you are able to tour India (this being written during the pandemic with severe travel restrictions), I would strongly recommend choosing a knowledgeable tour host which would include hotels, meals and drivers.

I give a special thank you to our host Komila Sutton whose annual tours are thoroughly researched and organized. We had excellent tour guides and drivers through Indian Panorama Tours which made everything much more enjoyable.

Also, a shout-out to all of the wonderful people I met along the way. I have maintained long-distance friendships with many of them and cherish having them in my life.

Make sure you exchange currency the right way. Don’t pay expensive fees every time you need some cash. We put together our Top Tips for the Best Way to Exchange Currency.

Travelling means taking pictures. Whether you’re a serious photographer or just want souvenir snaps of your wanderings, here are our 15 Best Tips to Improve Your Travel Photography.

We loved our month in Portugal and wrote about it a few times. Our most popular post was Everything You Need to Know About Renting a Car in Portugal. We can’t wait to go back.

There’s nothing like having WiFi wherever you go, especially in India. We rented a Teppy portable WiFi and carried it with us everywhere. It’s small so that it fits in your pocket or bag. With a Teppy, you can connect your phones, tablets, laptops and gaming consoles just like you connect to WiFi at home.

Use the apps on your phone including your favorite GPS apps without paying expensive cellular service fees.

It’s also perfect for uploading pictures, sending emails or just web browsing. We also used it for online work on the road including web updates and social media.

Teppy portable WiFi works around the world. Try it on your next trip.

For hotel accommodation, we like Booking.com. Photographs show off the properties, and real reviews help you choose the hotel that’s best for you. You’ll find a great selection, current prices and pages that make booking easy.

Remember, the most popular destinations fill up quickly, so book early to get the best selection and price. Click here, and you’ll get $25 off your next reservation on Booking.com.

We’ve rented Airbnb on many of our trips. We wrote an article about renting Airbnb, 12 Tips for a Great Renting Experience to help you make the right decision. If it’s your first time renting Airbnb, click here to get the equivalent of $50 CDN off your first booking.

These days there are many things that can happen when you travel, aside from getting bumped from a flight. That’s why we always get insurance for our trips. It covers damage, loss or theft of our belongings, health issues and if necessary, emergency evacuation. Better safe than sorry.

Whether you’ve just booked your trip or are already underway, you can get covered by World Nomads. It’s one of the most popular insurance companies designed specifically for travellers. See if it’s right for you.

Note: Some of the links on this page are affiliate links. If you click on them and buy something or book accommodation, we receive a small commission at absolutely no cost to you. This helps with the cost of operating this site.